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Spotify has landed in the US with a great deal of press coverage and speculation, but what is it, exactly?

Spotify is a streaming music service - more akin to Rdio or MOG than the randomly-generated playlists of Pandora - that has one killer feature its competitors don't. It's free. Yep, once an account is established (which is tricky at the moment - more on that in a bit), streaming is enabled for Macs and PCs through the iTunes-like Spotify desktop client. The catches are relatively minor. The free service is ad-supported, so expect to hear song snippets when you least expect them, or see an ad for Coke dominate your Spotify screen for a few seconds. Taken as a whole, however, it's a lot of content for the surprising cost of nothing.

For those wanting more, Spotify offers an Unlimited Plan for $4.95 which features unlimited streaming to PC/Mac with no ads or a Premiere Plan for $9.95 a month to stream all content to the iPhone and select other devices. If you're hurting for an invite to join the fun, you can jump to the head of the line by purchasing an Unlimited or Premiere plan...or...

You can win one of two invites to Spotify USA by helping us reach 2,000 fans on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/148apps. Once we hit that magic number, all of our recent fans' names go into a hat for a random drawing. Two lucky winners will receive invites to the music party of the year.

Aspyr and Kaplan have announced that they're teaming up to bring their SAT Prep game, futureU to the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The game was originally launched on PC and the Nintendo DS, and features a number of mini-games which are designed to focus specifically in the reading, writing and math sections of the well-known college admissions test. The core version of the game is available for free on the iTunes Store, and four extended study levels are available for $1.99 each.

“As the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch play an increasing role in how students receive their information, it made sense for us to expand the futureU SAT test prep game to this mobile platform,” said Kaplan’s Executive Director of Pre-College Programs Kristen Campbell “Aspyr’s ability to deliver engaging games to students across multiple-platforms has enabled us to bring futureU to a new audience of SAT preppers.”

So in addition to traditional study books, courses and flashcards students can now cram for the single most stressful exam of their lives on their mobile devices. It's sort of ingenious yet horrifying all at once, as now you truly can take your test prep with you anywhere you go. Just looking at the screenshots of the app is bringing back a wave of sick nostalgia that makes me glad I'm not in high school anymore.

For technology-minded teens though this app may be a godsend, as it gives them a method to study that requires neither book nor sharpened number 2 pencil. Is a high school student more likely to pull out their iPhone to study than they are to text friends or update their Facebook status? Probably not, but at least it's something there to remind them, and maybe even spur them into expanding their vocabulary or working out a couple algebra problems while they're waiting to hear where everyone's meeting up for tonight. You've got to celebrate the small victories, right?

[via FingerGaming]

If you’ve used HippoRemote Pro before you’ll know how effective it is at controlling your computer, either Mac or PC, over Wi-Fi. The app allows users to control their computer as well as a host of popular applications using its multi-touch trackpad and built-in keyboard. HippoRemote also offers a web browser and Twitter client. If all these features weren’t enough, however, the latest update to HippoRemote turns your iPhone into an advanced games controller too.

With many Mac and PC games requiring control via the mouse and keyboard, controllers like those found on consoles aren’t compatible and therefore tie the user to their desk in order to play games. HippoRemote 2.2 offers freedom from this traditional setup by replicating mouse and keyboard control from your iPhone. Whether you’re playing a full on RPG, an intense shoot ‘em up or just a simple Flash game on the web, HippoRemote allows you to customize the control layout and use only the keyboard buttons you need for a particular game. Controls can be set for different games with either a trackpad or a button pad and game-specific profiles can also be downloaded from the HippoRemote website. At present, HippoRemote is compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch but we’re excited by the possibilities introduced by the iPad and look forward to a compatible version in the future. If you love your PC games but want that console feel, you might well have already bought the best controller, you just need HippoRemote to take advantage of it.